Students are introduced to the carbon cycle through discussion, modeling and a game. Students then complete activities and investigations on Greenhouse gasses, photosynthesis, cellular respiration and ecosystem services (functions and values of...(View More) intact ecosystems to humans). The unit is one of four under the Chicago Botanic Garden curriculum entitled, "Climate Change in My Backyard."(View Less)

This online, facilitated course is designed for middle-school educators wishing to teach global climate change using an inquiry/problem-based approach. Teachers access the course by registering with PBS TeacherLine and enrolling in the course. The...(View More) course supports teaching global climate change using a problem-solving approach and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) methodology to engage middle-school students and help them understand the causes and effects of climate change and learn about the differences between climate and weather and how actions and nature affect the environment. The course includes pedagogic support for educators who are interested in using Web 2.0 tools when teaching about climate change in the classroom. Enhance content knowledge of climate change and learn how to effectively implement STEM instructional strategies using resources from NASA and WGBH’s Teachers’ Domain.(View Less)

Students work in teams to research and debate the following issues: protection of spotted owl habitat, ozone depletion, global warming, and acid rain. Each team is assigned a topic and given opposing statements by Al Gore and Rush Limbaugh as a...(View More) starting point for their library research. The purpose of this activity is to improve students' reasoning and debating skills while raising their awareness of and objectivity towards opposing viewpoints on environmental issues. This activity is supported by a textbook chapter, Champions of a Sustainable World, part of the unit, Losing Biodiversity, in Global Systems Science (GSS), an interdisciplinary course for high school students that emphasizes how scientists from a wide variety of fields work together to understand significant problems of global impact.(View Less)

This investigation teaches that physical and human features are used to characterize places on Earth. Since types of both features are visible from space, students will use NASA images to complete several activities: matching images to geographic...(View More) places, matching images to the features described in verses of "America the Beautiful" then attaching those images to the appropriate areas on a hand-drawn outline map of the U.S. and finally, writing their own poem to describe those images. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. This is Investigation 2 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 3 of Mission Geography. Note: The authors recommend that students first complete Investigation 1 in this Module (What Are Physical and Human-Made Features?) to acquaint them with identifying features.The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 3, while related, can be done independently. Please see Investigation 1 of this module for a two-page module overview and list of all standards addressed.(View Less)